The youth, piloting the pitch-black powered armor, seemed to have merged with the darkness of the night.
Although the battle outside had essentially concluded, and everything had unfolded according to his plan, his expression remained stern, showing no signs of relaxation.
Neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat.
Moreover, he possessed terrifying perseverance and strength to match.
All of this combined further elevated Lacus's regard for Fred in her heart at that moment.
However, in Lacus's mind, Fred's importance had already reached the highest level, second only to her father, so there was no need for further elevation.
As Lacus was lost in thought, Siegel completed his complex calculations, his eyes narrowing into slits as he fell into deep contemplation.
Based on the results he had just calculated, this operational upgrade likely achieved about 75% of the performance of a normally piloted unit.
Though not a significant increase, this was a technology that could save the pilot's life.
If this were in the Atlantic Federation, they likely wouldn't pay much attention.
Their Mistral units were similar to excavators from the past—with a certain degree of training, anyone could pilot them.
The only difference lay in the pilot's skill level.
However, operating powered armor was extremely difficult, far beyond the complexity of driving a tractor.
Ace pilots were a precious resource, and losing even one was a significant blow.
This was especially true since powered armor was primarily used in covert operations.
Of course, this technology was not without its drawbacks. Beyond the performance reduction, the bigger issue was the network.
Not every place had high-performance networks like Mendel.
Moreover, electronic warfare had long been a critical aspect of the battlefield.
If the network were paralyzed by the enemy, it would be a truly devastating blow.
The primary application scenario for this technology was indeed in the automated balance systems of MS.
Though Siegel thought this way, Fred had truly provided them with a new perspective on combat.
What Fred possessed was not just raw ability but also forward-thinking ideas.
Whether it was a coincidence or not remained unclear.
Just as Siegel was inwardly musing with curiosity, the scene shifted back to Fred.
Due to the delay, while Siegel was still in shock, Fred had already led Alec and the team members to the airspace near the research institute, beginning to decelerate.
The pitch-black fuselage was completely concealed in the dark sky, leaving no trace of their presence.
According to Fred's monitor, the research institute was now engulfed in flames, the red glow illuminating the night sky around it.
With this simple reconnaissance, Fred quickly understood the reason for the communication disruption without much analysis.
A regional communication center within a nearby space colony was also emitting massive flames, much like the research institute.
Their operational range was now limited to the radiation radius of the previous regional communication center.
In simple terms, that area had been deliberately cut off from the network.
Not far from the explosion, Fred could still faintly hear the occasional blasts and see flashes of fire. With his sharp eyesight, the boy could even spot several Mistrals pursuing something on the ground from mid-air.
There weren't many of them, and their durability hovered around Eighty or so. They didn't look like regular military forces—more likely a small Blue Cosmos unit.
And they were the source of the noise.
"This is troublesome..."
The squad leader also saw this scene, anxious but not acting rashly.
Just from his monitor alone, he could see several Mistrals. Fighting in a space colony was restrictive and hard to maneuver in.
Coming up with a thorough combat plan quickly was difficult, and at this moment, the squad leader's mind was racing.
Meanwhile, as everyone observed, it wasn't long before Ikeda's voice sounded again over the channel.
"Captain Freed! Let's go up there!"
The urgency in the young man's voice was unmistakable to anyone.
It seemed that if Fred said yes, he would be the first to charge out.
As for Fred, he was privately wondering what connections the other had used to become an Ace here.
If he were the captain, he would have kicked this troublesome guy out long ago.
Fred muttered to himself but still spoke up.
"Don't rush in recklessly."
As he spoke, Fred pulled a square machine nearly two meters tall from the multifunctional toolbox on his back and tossed it onto the rooftop below.
Watching this, the boy's eyes turned red with frustration. Seeing the constant explosions and flashes of fire below, he couldn't calm his racing thoughts.
"I want to—"
"Ikeda!"
The boy's words were cut off by a companion beside him.
"Follow orders!"
"I don't want to send you to the Military Court."
The squad leader's words were heavy, and upon hearing them, the boy fell silent, his face flushed with suppressed anger but not daring to argue.
This was a covert operation, and they were Aces.
Disobeying orders meant being uncontrollable.
And being uncontrollable meant facing punishment.
But in the boy's eyes, Fred seemed to be treating their captain's life as a joke.
Just as the boy couldn't hold back and was about to voice his doubts again, the squad leader reluctantly explained.
"Captain Freed deployed a Network Repeater to restore communications. Only with specific intel can we determine a combat plan."
"Didn't you learn this?"
Fred wasn't ignoring the situation as the impulsive boy claimed. Instead, he was gathering intel to analyze the best course of action.
Otherwise, charging in blindly without knowing the location or establishing communication would be like a headless fly.
The others understood this—only Ikeda seemed to have objections. In reality, they mostly agreed with Fred's actions.
If Fred had led them straight into the fray, they would have been in trouble.
Without knowing where their allies were or whether their allies knew they had arrived, what if they caused friendly fire?
This inexperienced boy, driven only by passion, had even forgotten what he'd been taught.
How could someone like this be called an Ace? I thought he was illiterate and had severe personality flaws. In special operations, such a person is a ticking time bomb within the team, with extremely fragile stress tolerance. At any moment, issues arising from their personality flaws could drag the entire team down, and no special forces unit would ever accept someone like this.
If it weren't for the fact that he had lost his composure due to Haken's peril, the Captain would have even considered killing him.
"..."
The young man who had been listening to the former Captain's words finally snapped back to reality. As his fervor cooled, he hung his head in shame.
As for Fred, unaware of the exchange happening behind him, he continued to focus intently on adjusting the device.
Under Fred's skilled manipulation, the metal block he had thrown out soon deployed a black parachute. The black parachute, along with the low-reflectivity black cube, drifted inconspicuously through the air.
No one would have noticed it unless a strong beam of light was directed its way.